Luxury on three sides

Nick Troubetzkoy wanted more from his hotel room than a bed,
pay-per-view movies and mini soaps.

By The Ottawa CitizenNovember 1, 2008

Nick Troubetzkoy wanted more from his hotel room than a bed, pay-per-view movies and mini soaps.

He wanted passion. The knock-your-socks-off kind. Alas, the Vancouver-raised architect never did find accommodation that made his heart flutter. So he made like a lunatic visionary and brought his wildest fantasy to life.

It's called Jade Mountain, an exclusive "resort within a resort" near Soufrière, St. Lucia, that opened in December 2006.

"In a regular hotel, you bounce up and down a couple of times on the bed and then say: 'Jesus, let me the hell out of here!'" says Troubetzkoy, who runs Jade Mountain and Anse Chastanet Resort with his German wife, Karolin. "I wanted to create the opposite, where people throw open the door and say: 'I'm never going to leave this place.'"

Forget the leaving bit: one look at one of Jade Mountain's 24 sanctuaries makes you question whether you will ever breathe again. The rooms are show-stopping, with heavenly canopy beds and top-of-the-line furnishings. But the pièce de résistance is what's not there: a fourth wall.

Every sanctuary is wide open to the Caribbean and the twin Piton mountains in the distance. And to top it all off, a private infinity pool creates the illusion that water is cascading clear off the edge of the room.

The overall effect is that of a platform hovering in the sky. This achieves Troubetzkoy's goal of "rethinking the relationship between people and their hotel rooms."

The exterior of Jade Mountain is understated; disappointing, even. It looks more or less like an artsy parking garage. But upon entering, many guests struggle to keep their emotions in check.

"People have come and burst into tears. I've seen people jump up and down uncontrollably," laughs assistant manager Peter Jean Paul. "And I'm talking about the men."

The idea first breezed into Troubetzkoy's consciousness years ago when he was designing Anse Chastanet. He left some parts of the seaside rooms open and was shocked by the enthusiastic response, especially from German guests.

"People who lived in places where everything was sealed up were grateful just to breathe the sea air," he says.

Ever since that revelation, Troubetzkoy has been fixated on rooms that bridge the gap between indoor and outdoor living. He shuns air conditioning completely. But the maximum exposure doesn't compromise privacy. Each sanctuary encourages the delusion that the occupant has exclusive rights to the magnificent scenery. In fact, virtually no traces of civilization are visible. The airy design even extends to the rooms themselves, which are all open-concept. Yes, even the bathrooms.

"In the beginning, people were shocked," says Troubetzkoy. "But the positioning of everything in there is very carefully worked out."

"The entrances to the bathrooms are very hard to find ... and when you're in there, you really can't be seen."

No need to make a stink about potential noise, either, as the trickling pool water creates an "acoustic mask."

"To me it's like going camping in the safest, most delightful way, above all the fray of life," he says.

And, true to that philosophy, technology is kept to the bare minimum at Jade Mountain: no telephones, televisions or radios in the rooms.

"We can show people there's an alternative way, where they can drop all the electronic crap," says Troubetzkoy. "And they might start to think about other things."

Jade Mountain's guest register is permanently peppered with celebrities, and the heli-pad gets a decent workout.

The hotel is also a big draw for canoodling couples. One pair, it is reported, didn't set foot outside their sanctuary for five days.

And if noshing on top-notch cuisine, stargazing from the unlit patio and lounging in the infinity pools (lined with resplendent tiles that Troubetzkoy likens to underwater Persian carpets) doesn't whip the birds and the bees into a frenzy, the in-house team of majordomos can help. On call 24/7, these detail-oriented servants are trained in the art of "making the man look good."

You want to impress your lady with a "bed expression" featuring dessert, fruits and a bottle of aphrodisiac? Done.

As for Troubetzkoy, he's smitten with his latest idea: a hush-hush real-estate oriented project. But the word "ordinary" will not figure into the plans.

"If we cannot grab the world's attention with whatever we design, we're not going to do it."

Reb Stevenson is a freelance writer and photographer who is based in Toronto.

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